Noel Tata
Noel Tata joins Tata Sons board, becomes first Tata family member since 2011 to serve on both boards at once
Mumbai/IBNS: Noel Tata has been appointed to the board of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, as a representative of Tata Trusts, following his recent elevation to Trusts chairman after Ratan Tata’s death, reports the Economic Times (ET).
This appointment was confirmed through an online resolution during a virtual Tata Sons meeting held on the eve of Diwali, ET reported, citing sources familiar with the proceedings.
Noel Tata continues to serve on the boards of other Tata Group entities, making him the first family member since 2011 to hold roles in both Tata Sons and Tata Trusts simultaneously.
Tata Trusts, as the largest shareholder, holds a 66 percent stake in Tata Sons.
With Noel Tata joining, the Tata Sons board now includes three directors nominated by Tata Trusts, alongside TVS Group Chairman Emeritus Venu Srinivasan and former Defense Ministry official Vijay Singh.
Together with Mehli Mistry, they form the executive committee overseeing Tata Trusts, as per the ET report.
Tata Sons has not provided an official comment on the new appointment.
According to Tata Sons’ Articles of Association (AoA), Tata Trusts can nominate up to one-third of the board's members.
The current nine-member board consists of two executive directors, including Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, three non-executive directors (Noel Tata, Srinivasan, and Singh), and four independent directors.
Following his appointment, Noel Tata met with Chandrasekaran to establish a positive working relationship, ET reported, citing insiders.
Noel Tata also serves as non-executive director and chairperson for Tata Investment Corp., Trent, and Voltas, while holding vice-chair positions at Titan and Tata Steel.
Previously, Ratan Tata held the dual roles of chairman of Tata Trusts and chairman emeritus of Tata Sons.
However, in 2022, Tata Sons updated its AoA to prevent any one individual from heading both simultaneously.
Now 67, Noel Tata stepped down from his executive roles at 65, following Tata Group’s retirement guidelines for executives.
Although executives must also retire from board positions at 70, no retirement age exists for trustees or chairpersons, allowing Noel Tata to continue in non-executive roles with group companies.
Noel Tata became chairman of Trent, the Group’s retail arm, in 2014, succeeding F.H. Kavarana.
Under Noel Tata's leadership, Trent’s revenue increased by 430 percent, from Rs 2,333 crore in FY14 to Rs 12,375 crore in FY24, turning a Rs 19 crore loss into a Rs 1,477 crore profit.
He also assumed chairmanship of Voltas in 2017, doubling its revenue to Rs 12,481 crore by FY24, with a stock price increase of nearly 300 percent since his tenure began.
As chairman of Tata Investment Corp., the company has delivered a 705 percent stock return over the past five years, vastly outperforming the Nifty's 102 percent return in the same period, according to ET.
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